by LL Helland
Mr. Hellandback stayed in the basement, listening for some kind of sound, but there was nothing. He became a little unnerved. Was that something that had come from Scotland? He always thought his childhood was so adventurous, but he didn’t want any of those creatures to come to his house in Boston. His children were being called to Scotland whether they liked it or not.
CHAPTER 7
Jon had made it home from England. “Hey Dad, can I drive home from the airport? I drove quite a bit with Mrs. Liston in London. All her children drove cars at an early age, due to their economic situation. I’m actually the oldest one to learn.”
“Well, Jon, here in Boston you are exactly the right age for learning.”
Mrs. Hellandback interrupted. “Jon, I will take you out in the next few days. In England, though, you drive on the opposite side. Wasn’t that strange?”
“Not really. Since I’ve never driven before, it was easy.”
Mr. Hellandback said, “Then I guess you’re going to have to unlearn all the things you learned about driving in England.”
“No problem, Dad. The basics are still the same. How’s Titan?”
Mrs. Hellandback said, “He’s found something behind the boiler. Don’t let him in the basement. You won’t get him back upstairs.”
Mr. Hellandback sighed, “We sent Chris behind the boiler, but whatever was back there is still there. Chris opened the window, which makes it hot down there, but that’s about all that he did. Jon, tomorrow I want you to go back there and check things out.”
“Sure, Dad, if someone will take me driving tomorrow.”
Mr. Hellandback looked at Mrs. Hellandback. She said, “Okay, Jon, I will take you tomorrow afternoon before rush-hour traffic.”
Jon entered the house, and Titan went wild. He was so excited he piddled on the floor.
Brittany came in after Jon, and Mr. Hellandback saw the small bag of colored stones, which he recognized. “Brittany, where did you get that?”
“I tried to give them back, but the head nurse insisted that the little boy in room two-ninety-two wanted me to have this.”
“What little boy?”
“I don’t really know, Dad. I don’t remember him.” Brittany went and gave Jon a quick hug. “Nice to see you, Jon. With Chris and Trisha, it’s hard to have an intelligent conversation.”
Mrs. Hellandback said, “Brittany, they just have different interests. That’s all.”
Chris walked by eating a banana. “Brittany, what’s that?”
She handed the pouch over to her younger brother. He poured the stones into his hand. “Hey Dad, don’t you have a few of these in your drawer in the bathroom—the one with your shaving stuff?”
Mr. Hellandback nodded.
Mrs. Hellandback yelled from the kitchen, “Chris, I’ll have dinner ready in thirty minutes. Don’t leave the house.”
“Aw, Mom, I’m going to my friend’s house. Trisha’s not home.”
“Have you eaten anything?”
Chris held up the rest of the banana. “Yeah, can I go?”
“Okay, call me once you get there.”
Chris grabbed his lacrosse stick and headed out the door.
Jon and Mr. Hellandback went into the kitchen to wait for dinner.
The next afternoon, Mrs. Hellandback really didn’t want to take Jon driving, but she had told him she would. So she yelled up the stairs, “Jon, it’s now or never to go driving. Make sure you have your permit.”
Jon came running down the stairs. “Come on, Mom.”
Chris came out of the kitchen. “Mom, can you take me to school? The guys are going to have a lacrosse scrimmage this afternoon.”
“Well, I’m taking Jon driving, so I think you’ll have to walk.”
“Hey Jon, you don’t mind driving me over to school, do you?”
“No, Chris. Hurry up. We’re leaving now.”
Mrs. Hellandback slowly grabbed her purse, and Chris threw Jon the keys. Mrs. Hellandback seemed nervous, while Jon wasn’t the slightest bit anxious.
Jon got in the car and turned the key, and Chris said, “Let’s go, Jon. I’m going to be late.”
Mrs. Hellandback said, “Chris, if you’re going to be late…Jon, you better let me drive.”
“Mom, no way!”
Mrs. Hellandback now wished she had asked Patrick to take the bigger car. Jon came so close to parked cars that she rolled her window down and folded the side mirror in. Jon was driving fairly well, but the streets seemed so much narrower than they usually were.
Jon started to weave over the centerline only once. Mrs. Hellandback yelled, “Jon, watch out!”
“Mom, I’m fine. Close your eyes if you are nervous.”
Jon pulled up in front of the lacrosse field and honked. All the lacrosse players looked over. Jon waved. He missed playing lacrosse, but he wanted his teammates to see how well he was driving.
Chris jumped out. “Thanks. I’ll be home in a couple of hours.”
“Chris, tell the guys I’ll start back to practice on Friday.”
Chris didn’t care when Jon came back—it just meant more practice time for him. In the summer, the middle school and high school all played on the same field together, and Chris and Jon both played the attack position.
Mrs. Hellandback said, “Jon, you’re not a bad driver.”
“Yeah, relax, Mom. I know what I’m doing.”
They drove for about forty-five minutes and then headed home. Jon hit the curb twice trying to park, which was worse with his dad watching him.
Mrs. Hellandback said, “Jon, you’re doing a great job. Don’t worry about parallel parking.”
“Mom, I can do this. I just need to get the logistics of the steering wheel on the opposite side.”
Finally, he got the hang of it and parked perfectly.
Mr. Hellandback came up. “How was the first driving lesson?”
“Dad, it was sweet.”
“Yes, Jon, I see that.”
Mrs. Hellandback said, “It was really okay. Just a little shaky at the end there, when you were watching him park.”
“Well, what happened to the mirror?”
“Oh. I did that. I thought the lanes were a little narrow, and the car was a little large, so I put the mirror down.”
“Hey Dad, what did you think, I hit something?”
“Jon, I really didn’t know. While your mother makes dinner, are you ready to look behind the boiler?”
“Yeah, sure, no problem. Thanks, Mom.”
Jon went down to the basement. He didn’t wait for his father to change his clothes and join him. He bent down and reached behind the boiler, feeling the floor. Jon felt something, but it felt like plastic. He pulled it out. It was a flashlight. He flicked it on, but it didn’t work. Jon didn’t care. He didn’t know about the strange thing Chris had seen in his closet, and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. He would have loved to make fun of Chris, though. Jon squeezed through the thin opening. He felt around on the floor for a raccoon or a cat. He didn’t find any furry creatures, but he did feel a few long, hard things.
Jon stood up, bumping his head on the open window. “Ouch.” He quickly shut the window and crawled out from behind the boiler.
Jon looked at what he was carrying in his hand. It smelled terrible. “Whoa! Now that’s deranged, must be part of one of my old casts. I thought Mom threw these out.” He threw the object in the trash and walked upstairs.
“Dad, I hate to disappoint you, but there isn’t anything behind the boiler. Just some dark, hard things that smell bad. Maybe you can get Chris to clean back there for you.”
Mr. Hellandback waved his hand in the air like that would never happen. “Well, whatever was back there, it’s gone now.” He looked at Mrs. Hellandback. “See, dear? I saved us some money not hiring a critter removal.”
“Well, you’re just lucky it worked out for the best this time. Jon, did your dad tell you that Chris thought he saw something in his closet last week?�
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“No, but did he sleep in your room on the floor for days after?”
Mrs. Hellandback said, “No, as a matter of fact, it was only one night.”
“Darn, I wish I’d have been here. You know, Mom, he can play practical jokes on the rest of the family, but if someone does it to him, he has a fit. He’s going to have to toughen up now that I’m home.”
Mr. Hellandback said, “Jon, don’t get too crazy. I don’t want him in our room every night.”
Mrs. Hellandback poured her son some herbal tea and sighed, “It’s going to be a very long summer.”
CHAPTER 8
Jon and Chris had lacrosse camp until a day before the trip to Scotland, so Mrs. Hellandback had to pack everything. If she left it up to them, they would pack nothing but their lacrosse equipment, not even a toothbrush. Even Brittany had gotten ready a few days ago.
When Mr. and Mrs. Hellandback saw their four children off to the airport, Chris could tell by his parents’ faces that they were a little sad to see them all leaving at the same time. It was only for a week. They would just have to spoil Titan.
As the Hellandback children boarded the plane, they must have made quite a spectacle getting to their seats. Jon couldn’t sit next to Chris or Trisha. He just couldn’t read or concentrate on anything with Chris fidgeting or with Trisha’s nervous tic. She would wiggle her feet the entire trip. Mr. and Mrs. Hellandback made Jon sit next to one of them many times at church, school plays, even at sporting events, without success. Jon swore that, even with his eyes closed, he couldn’t think because of the constant motion from Trisha and Chris. So Jon sat next to Brittany, who could not sit next to Trisha, since they just didn’t get along. They had to share close quarters in their bedroom; they would never sit next to each other on the plane. So Chris sat next to Brittany, and then Trisha.
The Hellandback children argued a few times during the flight, and the flight attendant finally had to come over. They were not that bad, but some adults complained that they were being too loud.
Chris suggested rock-paper-scissors to handle any disputes on the plane. He lost a lot, though, and yelled, “That’s not fair!”
The flight attendant scowled at Chris and put her fingers to her lips like he was five.
Once they landed, they were all tired, but were excited to see Scotland and, of course, their granmama. Mrs. Hellandback said Chris had given her that name when he was three years old.
Chris wanted to beat the other three off the plane, so he pushed past Jon. He mumbled something about immaturity, but he let Chris take the lead.
They spotted Granmama standing by the baggage pickup, waving her arms. She had on a floral dress and a big floppy hat with sunflowers on it. To say their granmama was eccentric was putting it mildly. She might have been brilliant, but some members of the family had always said “crazy” was the right word for her.
The Hellandbacks walked out of the airport and into the parking lot, looking for the new expensive car that their mom had told them Granmama bought. Jon was surprised when she stopped in front of a 1950 Ford Deluxe Tudor Sedan. It was a classic, but not exactly what Mrs. Hellandback had described.
Brittany asked, “Where is your new car?”
“Well, it had too many gadgets on it. I couldn’t concentrate on driving with all that stuff. File in, children. We haven’t got all day.”
They threw their luggage in the trunk. Then, at the same time, Jon and Chris yelled, “Shotgun!”
Granmama said, “I have no earthly idea what you are saying. But, Trisha, since you constantly wiggle, you sit up front.”
Chris said loudly, “I can’t speak for Jon, but I’m upset.”
Jon poked Chris with his lacrosse stick to get in; he wanted a window seat.
Brittany looked for the seat belts. “Mom would be pissed if she knew we were in a car and it didn’t have seat belts.”
Granmama seemed perfectly calm. “We are not going far; you will all be fine. Now, Trisha, turn on the music.”
Trisha looked at the dashboard for anything resembling a radio. She pointed to a few knobs and turned one. She turned it too far, and a blast of scratchy music came out of the radio.
Granmama said, “Now that is more like it.”
Chris put his finger in his mouth as if he was gagging.
“Chris, I can see you in my rearview mirror. Do you have something stuck in your throat?” After a stern look, she changed the subject. “Chris, how do you like your surroundings?”
Chris looked out the window for the first time, noticing green grass as far as he could see. In fact, many shades of green covered the passing landscape. None of the Hellandback children could believe how much open land there was. They all felt they could get lost in the hugeness of it all.
Land was precious in Boston, and nobody had a yard to speak of—at least nobody they knew. Here, there were sheep on every hill, and the longer they drove, the greater the distance between houses.
Jon said, “I thought you didn’t live exceedingly far from the airport, Granmama?”
“Jon, here in my home country, you may call me ‘Ma'am’ if you would like. It will be respectful, but shorter.” All of the Hellandback kids knew Granmama demanded respect. “It is a bit of a drive to my home, but well worth the trip.”
Soon she pulled up to a huge building that didn’t look like a house at all. None of them wanted to say anything. Chris jabbed Jon with his lacrosse stick until he finally spoke.
“Ma’am, what is this place? Is this where you live?”
“Yes, Jon—or do you still go by Jonathan?”
Chris couldn’t stand it. “This conversation isn’t going anywhere. You can call him Jon and me Chris. We have shortened our names since we matured.”
Granmama smiled. “Oh, I see, Chris. Well, to answer your question, Jon—yes, this is where I live. It used to be a hospital many, many years ago. Your dad loved growing up here. There was never a dull moment. He was a very mischievous young lad.”
Brittany asked in a quiet voice, “Dad lived here when he was a little boy?”
“Yes, Brittany, he did, and he loved every minute of it. He never wanted to leave. But enough about old times—we’re going to have some new adventures.”
At this point, they all dragged their tired bodies out of the uncomfortable old seats. Granmama added, “And you will each have your own room.”
Trisha got so excited that she jumped up and down and hit Chris in the eye. Trisha said it was an accident, but Chris wasn’t so sure. Luckily, Granmama stepped between them before Chris could take her down.
“Now, all of you get your bags and come into the kitchen. It’s been a long trip, and you must be hungry.” They all followed her into the kitchen through long hallways that looked like they led into some dark, unknown abyss.
Smart-alecky Chris muttered under his breath, “We are going to need tracking devices.”
Trisha said, “But look on the bright side. There’s enough room that I can play my music and not bother anybody—and no one will bother me.”
Granmama replied, “Trisha, I don’t think you will have time for music. You can listen to music at home, but this trip is all about adventures.”
Brittany said, “What do you mean by that?”
“You’ll see. Now, what kinds of sandwiches would you like? I have all your favorites. I spoke with your mum, and she told me.”
Chris said, “I think I speak for all of us when I say, Ma’am, at this point I will eat cardboard. Okay, that may not be exactly what the rest of you would say, but you know the airlines these days are cheap; they don’t give you much to eat.”
After their sandwiches, Granmama made them some hot cocoa. As they sipped it, she said, “I know it’s getting late, but I’d like to ask you each some questions before I show you to your rooms. I can’t pick out the proper bedroom for each of you until I know what you are interested in these days. Chris, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
Chris thought this was sort of an insult, since he thought he was already grown up. “Well, Ma’am, I don’t plan to go to college anywhere it is hot. Last summer, Mom sent me to summer camp in Texas, and I thought I was going to die from heatstroke. But I would like to be a cardiac surgeon some day. Science is my favorite subject, and I don’t mind a little blood and guts every now and then.”
Jon got a little pale. “Chris, don’t talk about stuff like that after we just ate.”
It didn’t bother Trisha, Brittany, or Chris to talk about gory things. They all laughed at Jon. He was one of the toughest guys in high school, and that had not changed, but if anyone mentioned blood around him, he would practically faint.
Granmama nodded. “Chris, that is a very worthwhile profession. I can’t say that I’m gobsmacked by your choice to become a surgeon. You always did like to see the insides of things. Mostly kitchen appliances, though. There are some very good schools in Texas, so keep an open mind. You might have a change of heart about the hot weather.”
Great-Grandmother couldn’t say why Chris was going to have to change his mind about attending college in a warm climate. She had several years to work on him, though. Her visions, she had found out through the years, always came true. The vision of Chris frozen to death during college wasn’t a sight she would forget, but the decision had to come from Chris. She knew Chris was stubborn, and she was going to have to work on him for half a dozen years or so. If she informed the person of her so-called vision, it would always play out exactly as she saw it. Things couldn’t be changed once it slipped through her lips to the intended.
She changed the subject. “What about you, Trisha?”
“Well, Granmama, I think I will go to college for my MRS degree.”
Granmama looked puzzled. “What is this MRS degree?”
Chris couldn’t hold it in any longer. He though he’d burst a gut. “Granmama, Trisha wants to go to college to get married.”
Granmama simply looked at Chris. When he calmed down, she turned to Trisha. “I don’t see anything wrong with that. College is a great opportunity to date boys with the same interests that you have. I’m sure you will find a husband, and you’ll leave with a great education. I understand your plan.”
Chris mumbled, “Well, she better have a Plan B.”